Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The giant river otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is the world’s largest otter species as well as the longest member of the Mustellidae family. It originates from South America, and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with only 5,000 giant otters remaining in the wild. The threats it faces include habitat loss/degradation, pollution, overharvesting of fish, hunting for their skin, climate change, fossil fuel extraction, and infrastructure like roads and hydroelectric dams.
Today’s figure was produced by Yowie Group for its Wild Water Series in 2019. The size of this figure is 1 3/4”. It is made of plastic, and does not require assembly. It is also not on a base. It is designed as a children’s toy, not a collector’s model.
This is one of the only figures of the giant river otter I know of alongside the Kinder Natoons giant river otter figure.
It is a very beautiful figure that perfectly captures the species, with nice attention-to-detail and realism, including some fur detailing, wrinkling, and the characteristic white throat patch. It is also posing in a majestic stance, with its body slightly coiled up. Overall, I highly recommend this figure to collectors or just giant otter lovers in general like myself. While it is small, it is very beautiful and realistic.
